Posts by cardiganhighlanders
Summer Calendar 2023
Well there, trail crew, Almanac for this June says 5.36″ of rain. Our habit of raking drains in November, and cleaning them again in Spring, means that all this rain eroded our trails very little, if at all. The team on upper Andrew Brook Trail on Sunday June 18 dug three more, for 100 on…
Read More6/18/23: A Visit to Sunapee
On Sunday June 18th five Cardigan Highlanders met at Sunapee Ski area for a ride up the chair lift to work on the Solitude Trail and the upper portion of the Andrew Brook Trail. We split the group into two work parties; one to work on the Solitude Trail and the other on the upper…
Read More6/8 Mt Kearsarge: Chainsaw Crew for Winslow Trail
Hello Trail Crew, As things sugared off, three of us worked for two hours, and chainsawed three spruce blowdowns off Winslow Trail. Those are all of which we know. We passed out our card to the few people hiking on a showery weekday, had very few black flies but lotsa mosquitos, and listed jobs for…
Read MoreWell Done, Wes!
by Craig Sanborn Wes Tucker is our graphic artist, cartographer, and web minion (he runs the website and calls on the webwright to repair it). About a year ago he presented the crew with a new map of Mt. Sunapee, with trails overlaid on a topo map, conserved land boundaries, ski trails and lifts, etc.…
Read MoreSpring Patrols and Season Prospects
Gentle readers, it is time for a wee update on the crew and the trails (here insert usual warning not to cause more erosion, so please do not hike on muddy trails, thank you). The crew held their annual meeting on March 25. Possibly the most consequential decision was to further encourage volunteers who have…
Read MoreMud Season & Trails
By Bob Humphrey Mud Season has once again come early to Cardigan Highlander territory. Mud season could arguably be the time of year when our trails sustain the most damage. Early warm days start the thawing process and beckon hikers anxious to hit the trails after a long winter hiatus. Unfortunately, this is the worst…
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2022: 38th Worklog Summary for Cardigan Highlanders Volunteer Trail Crew
Seventeen volunteers turned out: 10 had and 6 earned their tartans. The 812 hrs on trails is 158% of the average of the last 5 years pre-covid: 476 hrs. That 812 hrs includes 3 days from 2 YMCA teen crews on service trips: 300 hrs. Our admin hrs = 158, outreach hrs = 59, so…
Read MorePutting Trails to Bed for the Winter, AKA Raking, Raking, Raking…
A clean drain is a happy drain! The trailwork manuals say that drains should be cleared of leaves before snowfall. Dry leaves do rake MUCH easier now than do soaked ones in May. Cleaning drains now means they can handle downpours and snowmelt right into next summer. Some crews heed this advice, some do not.…
Read More10/8/22 Lake Solitude Trail, Mt. Sunapee: Autumn on the Mountain
This foliage season is easily the most spectacular one hereabouts in many years. After a drought, there was enough rain in September to let the hardwoods really blaze with color against the constant of dark green spruce, fir and hemlock. Swamp maples in bright scarlet, sugar maples in yellow or orange, beeches in a lighter…
Read More7/11 – 9/16; Remove & Replace Old Wood Steps and Waterbars on West Ridge Trail
One major focus of 2022’s work was to remove and replace old rotting broken woodwork on West Ridge Trail, the main tourist trail up Mt Cardigan from the west. It climbs moderate grades on deep mineral soil, varied by steeper bands of ledge, until it encounters bedrock ledges just above Cliff’s Bridge which it follows to…
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